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ASBESTOS - Warning from Work Safe BC
2017-01-11 11:38:36 Posted By Jila RezaiPlease click the link below for new information about asbestos.
Until the late 1980s, asbestos was used in more than 3,000 building products in homes.
If an older home has acoustic and vinyl tiles, insulation, linoleum flooring, roof felt, and shingles or stucco, asbestos is likely present.
It's harmless unless it's disturbed during a renovation or demolition.
Once disturbed, however, it may be inhaled, causing lung cancer and death. It's so dangerous it's the number one occupational killer in BC.
Yet not many home owners know about asbestos, and even fewer know what to do about it.
A new survey by WorkSafeBC finds:
half of those surveyed (51 %) believe home owners are responsible for making sure testing for asbestos is conducted before undertaking renovations;
- one-third (36%) of those who renovated a home built before 1990 in the past five years tested for asbestos before renovations;
- one-third (32%) didn't know to look for asbestos before doing small home renovations in a home built before 1990; and
- just nine per cent know asbestos related disease is the number one occupational killer in BC.
To let home owners know just how dangerous asbestos is, WorkSafeBC has launched a new awareness campaign.